I use names for my mainstream company with a few numbers for indicating the important details. This changed in company lore through time.
In the 40s/50s an example would be:
1956 AEA Delux D-100 4x4 Hi-Lux
[reads: AEA = American Eagle Automotive; Delux = base chassis; D-100 = Letters & numbers given to the pickup truck variant with 100 signifying a 1/2 ton design; 4x4 Hi-Lux = 4x4 drivetrain and Hi-Lux signifies the “luxury” trim of the truck (which was mostly more chrome and fancy radio)]
and its engine: AEA Gen. 1 SB OHV V8 242ci - 125hp
The named engine family with it’s significant (for the time) design followed by the variant which is classified by the displacement (size in cubic inches, later years changed to liters) and the Rated Power Output.
The rated power output was simply the guaranteed power by AEA that an engine would produce, in the 60s muscle car wars, this became quite understated.
Most cars are labeled through history by main chassis name then trim level. What LX vs LT vs GT means for trim level did change through time, though LT was usually the base trim (think Ford), LX usually was a mid-level luxury trim (think Mercury or Lincoln), and GT was the performance trim. In the late 80s to mid 90s some cars had a GT2 trim that was the highest performance trim when AEA messed with turbos.
In the 60s some cars had a Limited trim. This was a Luxury Sport Convertible (LSC) which had the Special variant of the best engine of the time to power it exclusively.
See This post for the first LSC in AEA’s history.
The 60s engines were labeled slightly different than the first gen V8 was.
AEA Windsor SB V8 = Small block V8 (ohv) designed & initially built at the Windsor location
AEA Cleveland BB V8 = Big Block V8 (ohv) designed & initially built at the Cleveland location.
They are labeled as such:
- Displacement first in cubic inches, later liters
- SD / PD / Hi-Po / HD / HO = SD is standard duty on small blocks (using 91/92RON), with Hi-Po being performance trim (95/98 RON) HO is the High Output performance trim on 91 ron. PD is passenger duty on Big Blocks (91/92 RON), and HD is Heavy Duty or performance (95/98 Ron).
- Number or name = rated HP or special performance variant name
- A P or PU on the end = P indicates an engine suited for “pulling” or towing and usually has a better intake/introduction system (usually 91/92 ron)
- Finally, a -T after the P or PU indicates Turbocharged, when we get the engine revamp, an -S will indicate Supercharged.
I differentiate between small block and big block by the bore size of the max capacity variant on the V8s. If the max bore is less than 4.15" it is considered a small block, if it’s more it’s considered a big block.
An earlier engine AEA built (for non-automobile applications) has a more interesting naming system
The 567 Prime Mover Series
Basically it follows like this: 567 is max displacement, C8 indicates Cast iron all with 8 cylinders, 16V is 16 valves, 80 is the fuel RON Rating and the last letter indicates revision, with a T to indicate turbo.
For My Rapido Motors company, I follow a slightly more composed letter and number scheme.
RM for Rapido Motors, The first 2 letters “CI” for Cast Iron, next 2 for cylinder layout “I4” for one family and “V8” for the bottom family.
On the I4 family, G21 is Gas powered, 2.1L max displacement, with S8 for SOHC head, 8 total valves.
On the V8 family, 35G for 3.5L max disp. and Gas powered again, with V for OHV head.
I don’t recall why the I4 variant is 1700LE of course it’s 1.7L displacement, but I forget what LE was for. Of course the rated HP is 60hp, as stated at the end.
The 3500HD is just as you’d expect, 3.5L “Heavy Duty” but in this case heavy duty is referring to the low-rpm torque of the motor rather than any special components (It’s all cast internals). And LQF simply shows it can run on low quality fuel (80 ron).